1 Peter 1:17-23.                                One Way Street - in Christ!!                                        4/5/14

 “ Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.  Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.  For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

 This reading here this morning reminds us again that Easter changes life for us. Life is not the same for us who believe in Jesus Christ and his death on cross for us, and his resurrection from the dead. Our lives have now taken on a whole new and positive direction in life. We have a better way to live now as people who have been saved by our Lord Jesus.

 At the same time we need to be very mindful of how Peter begins this reading. Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. How we live, or more to the point, how we don’t live our lives, has serious consequences. We need to have a good sense of reverent fear.

 We have been placed on a different road, which leads to life, hope, joy and oh so much more. We are now heading down a one-way street, from which surely there is no turning back - no deviating from the course that is in front of us.  We are on the freeway to heaven - through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. The road is clear in front of us. By our belief – our trust in Jesus and his work of saving us and that his ways are good for us, we are on that road with a clear run all the way.

 We are now in a sense on a one-way street. That really an interesting analogy for us, and our Christian life: to think of life now as a one-way street, of freeway proportions, with sadly very little traffic on it.

With that in mind, what does it mean for our lives? Both in the good sense but also the tragic reality if we go against what is set before us. Let me relate this to a modern day issue to help us understand.

 Dad has just given you a brand new Mercedes Benz, sports car, which cost him everything that he had, so that you could travel down this freeway of life in freedom, ease and safety. Would you then jump straight out that car and get on a wild, unbroken horse, close your eyes, and take pot-luck on South Road, going in the opposite direction to the flow of traffic. That sounds rather suicidal and stupid doesn't it!  It would be madness to do that, wouldn't it?  Would any of you do that? Would any of you get on South Road at peak hour with that wild horse with all those cars and trucks whizzing by, with your eyes closed as well, after you have already been given a Mercedes? You wouldn't be so mad, would you?

 Well, listen to what our Lord is telling us through Peter here in this reading.  God through Jesus’ death and resurrection has saved us. He has saved you and me from the pits of Hell. He knew right from the very beginning how stupid we human beings are and would continue to be. He knew how time and time again we ignore God and how he wants us live, so that we can do and live as we please. We think we can wink at sin and it doesn't matter. A little wrong here and there is not all that important. That we can avoid church: avoid helping our neighbour who is in need of help and love: that we can criticize one another or whatever, and see it as not all that important. Now I am not pointing to anyone in particular here, but to every single one of us. We have all mucked up so badly that we are in big trouble.

 We are standing in the middle of South Road with a line of 40ton semi-trailers bearing down on us and no way out. We on our own are in trouble and on a one-way trip to destruction. It is into that kind of situation that Jesus comes and takes everything that you and I deserve on himself: facing the punishment that surely should be ours. Then in place of that gives us a brand new Mercedes so that we can speed on our way through life to the home God has prepared for us. He has freed us from the emptiness and futility of life that is so prevalent around us and has given us a reason and a purpose for living; something sure to hope in and look forward to; something good and worthwhile to do on the way.

That is where we are here today. We sit here assured that we have got everything going for us. We have been placed on the freeway to heaven - with a luxury ride all way. So now what are we going to do about it? Are we going to be so stupid as to jump out of our Mercedes and place our lives in great danger?

 Well, that is surely what we do every time we go along with many of the things that are going on in our society. That what we do when we think that we can continue to live as we please and do what we want to do, without consideration as what God has to say on the matter.

 Yes, when we place all our security and hope in life on our education, money, material possessions and the like we will find that ultimately they are nothing but empty hopes and dreams: just when we need them most of all they will leave us stranded and in great danger.

 When we go along with others in playing down the importance of Jesus Christ and the Christian way of life we are wandering all over the road and are placing our lives and the lives of others around us in great danger. If we are going to close our eyes to the reality of the importance of Jesus Christ for every aspect of our lives, then can we be surprised later in life when we come crashing down in a screaming heap. To veer off the track that is set before us is nothing else but dangerous, to ourselves, and others. We might like to think that we have got it all under control; like the drunk does when he gets behind the wheel. But it is too late when we have crashed and killed a whole carload of innocent travellers.

 And yes, to even sit still in life can be just as dangerous. Would you like to just stop your car in the centre lane of the freeway, in peak hour, and sit there? No of course not! Likewise, God has called us now to go forward and to live as he would have us live, and not just sit there in the midst of life and do nothing.

The road is ahead of us. But remember it is a one-way street.  So to turn back or to veer this way or that by trying to live as the rest of society does, is to place ourselves and others in great danger. Surely we can no longer ignore the Lord Jesus Christ and the whole message of Easter.

 It is he who has rescued us from absolute disaster and placed us on the freeway to heaven. He gave up his very life for us. He allowed himself to be punished in our place. Here we have before us and in our midst the very one who has done such a remarkable thing for us. He now is the one who made it possible for us have a new and better life. So now our lives are surely his. He is the one who is all-important to us.

 So surely we will now go forward and continue on the freeway to heaven.  We will keep looking to Jesus and his death on the cross, because the road ahead will not be without its distractions, dangers and difficulties. We will surely remember at all times that we are there on that road by the grace of God. It is his love for us that placed us there, and which keeps us going. So we will continually seek his help and guidance all along the way. We will look ahead to him so that we do not diverge off the track and run into danger.

That is very much our encouragement here today again. To keep our eyes, hearts and minds fixed on the Lord Jesus at all times. Yes, that means we will in some ways be stranger to many people around us who don't know and don't care about the Lord Jesus Christ and Christianity. It means a lot of what others see as important, will to us be rubbish.

So now instead of only thinking about ourselves first, last and only, we will considers others and care for them. Our security will be a certainty, because it is founded in heaven: in Jesus, and not something as fickle as money and material possessions, which we know all too readily, can be here today and gone tomorrow. Our security, hope, meaning and purpose is now all there for us in Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection.  As a result, we will live as is fitting for one who has been saved by our Lord and Saviour.

 Now we can and will trust in him. We can and will look ahead to him and the salvation that he has given to us. In Christ, life is now a one-way street: a highway to heaven. So with Jesus; happy and safe traveling, in the days and years ahead. And to him alone be all glory and praise, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish